


(Boy) Friends Til The End

by lyricalLoser



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Plot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-08-19 10:18:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 16,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16532669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyricalLoser/pseuds/lyricalLoser
Summary: This story takes place one year after The End. The song that's sets the chapters' mood is noted at the beginning of each chapter.Tord's life has completely fallen apart. He has lost everything, his home, his army, and his family.Edd's life has been pieced back together. He's the only thing that's fallen apart. He's a shell of his former self, not eating, not sleeping, not leaving his room.Nothing is going right for them until a cruel twist of fate brings Tord to Edd's doorstep.(This story is also on my Wattpad, and that's where all of the main updates will be! This is sort of a back-up version. Enjoy!)





	1. Regretting Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes by Amanda Joy

Tord lay in his room, staring up at the cracked ceiling. Today was the one year anniversary of the day that everything fell apart. He'd destroyed everything he'd ever loved, shattered the hearts of his dearest friends, and killed an innocent bystander. The only things that he lost were his right arm and some of his flesh. As the Red Leader's gaze followed the lines of the cracked ceiling, he wished that he'd lost his life that day instead.  
After that day, his world began to fall apart, along with the Red Army. The army had become bankrupt. They'd sold their guns and tanks on the Black Market to get money for food and the base's rent. 'I've failed them all. Everything's falling apart, and it's all my fault.' He thought.  
He closed his eyes, feeling tears start to well up. Pat opened the door, Pau at his side as usual. Tord sat up, wiping his eyes. "Red Leader? Are you alright?" Pat asked gently.  
Tord nodded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm alright. Did you need something?" Pat and Pau glanced at each other worriedly before shifting their gaze back to Tord. Pat held out a piece of colored paper. "This was on the front door." He said.  
Tord took it with his bionic arm. He read it quickly. "They're... kicking us out?" He asked. "Yes sir. We have to be gone by noon." Pau said.  
Tord sighed. "Alright. Pack your things then." He said, standing up. The two soldiers nodded and left the room. Tord turned on the light switch, filling the room with a soft glow.  
He pressed a button on his desk, and a closet opened in the wall. It held a large suitcase and his two hoodies. He grabbed the suitcase and unzipped it before stuffing the hoodies inside. He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a bunch of photos. He put those into the suitcase and zipped it back up before wheeling it out into the hallway and sliding his shoes on.  
A short while later, Pat and Pau joined him. "Ready to go, soldiers?" Pat and Pau nodded. Tord opened the door and walked out into the world. The sky was blanketed in dark storm clouds.  
"It's nice to know that the weather is having a bad day too." Tord said.


	2. Bleeding Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Run And Go by Twenty One Pilots

The three men started down the sidewalk. "We'll head to the realtor's office to see if they have any cheap properties available. Pat, did you remember the emergency credit card?" Pat nodded, holding up the plastic rectangle. Tord turned into an alley, taking a shortcut. Pat and Pau dutifully followed him.  
All of a sudden, Tord stopped. "Sir?" Pau asked questioningly. "I thought I heard something." Tord mumbled. He waited for a moment before continuing down the alley. A figure stepped in front of them, blocking the exit.  
Two more came from behind the army members. "Well, look what we have here. The Red Leader and his sidekicks." One of the men said. Tord frowned. "If you're here to turn us in, you're out of luck. The bounties on our heads have been lifted."  
The man laughed. "Bounties? Fuck bounties! Do you have any idea how much your arm is worth on the Black Market? Not to mention your other limbs. You're a walking gold mine!"  
Pau stepped in front of Tord, Pat guarding the Red Leader's back. "You won't hurt him. We won't let you." Pau said. The man smirked. "Oh really?" He moved closer, pulling out a knife. Pat and Pau were unarmed, so they were basically just meat shields.  
The man slashed Pau's side. He let out a cry of pain, falling to his knees. Pat turned his head in alarm. "Pau!" One of the men picked up a large metal pipe and hit him over the head while he was distracted. Pat fell to the ground, unconscious.  
The man took the knife and slashed out at Tord. The knife cut into the Red Leader's face. Tord gritted his teeth. He grabbed the man's arm tightly. "You think that fazes me? I've been in more pain than you could ever imagine. This is nothing."  
He wrenched the knife out of the man's grip, holding it at the man's throat. "I'll give you ten seconds to get the hell out of here. If I see your face again, I'll put you through so much pain, you'll beg for death." Tord spat, letting go of the man. He ran out of the alley, his two lackeys not far behind.  
Tord sighed. He sat down, pulling the two wounded soldiers' heads into his lap. "Let's get you two to a hospital." He said, pulling out his phone. He dialed 911, gave the operator their location, and waited for the paramedics to arrive.


	3. Crying Skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Am Not A Robot by Marina And The Diamonds

Tord was sitting on the stairs by the hospital entrance. About an hour earlier, he'd been sitting in an alley with his two comrades bleeding all over him and the concrete. Now, they were in the hospital in critical condition. Tord had been released about ten minutes after being brought in. They bandaged his cheek and gave him his suitcase so he could change out of his blood-stained clothes.  
Now he was sitting on the hospital stairs in his black hoodie and jeans, trying to figure out where to go. Pat and Pau had all of their money in their suitcases, which the hospital staff wouldn't let Tord near. He had a bit of pocket change, but it was barely enough to pay for a cab. "Hmm... I can pay for one cab ride. But where is there for me to go? The base isn't ours anymore, I can't pay for a hotel, and I'm not going to live on the streets." He said to himself.  
It started raining, dampening his hoodie and his suitcase. Tord frantically unzipped the suitcase and pulled out the photos before the rain could get into his worn suitcase and make the colors bleed. He tucked his shirt in and stuffed the photos into his shirt so that they wouldn't get wet. He paused for a moment, looking at one of the photos. It was a picture of him and his oldest friend in front of their old house.  
He ran his finger over the glossy surface. "Edd...." he said softly, his voice filled with remorse. He put the picture inside his shirt and put his hood up. If he remembered correctly, Eduardo and Mark had rebuilt the old house as a gift for Edd. Now Tord had somewhere to go.  
He pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and called for a cab. A moment later, the cab arrived. Tord put his luggage in the backseat before climbing in next to it. He gave the driver the address, and they drove off. By the time they arrived at the house, it was raining harder.  
Tord gave the driver the last of his money, grabbed his luggage, and raced up to the front door. He rang the doorbell frantically. "Open up!" He called. The door opened, and Tom looked at him. His black eyes widened. "Tord?" "Hello Thomas. Um... is Edd home by any chance?" Tord asked.  
Tom frowned. "Why, so you can try to kill him?" He asked sarcastically. "N-no! I don't want to kill him! I need his help!" Tord said. Tom scoffed. "You expect him to help you after everything you've done? Get lost, commie." He said, starting to close the door.  
Tord stopped the door from closing, grabbing it with his bionic arm at the last second. "Tom, please! Please, I... I don't have anywhere else to go!" He said, his eyes filling with tears. Tom opened up the door again. "Just go to a hotel or something instead of trying to ruin our lives again." He said, looking at Tord's hand. "I can't. I used up the last of my money paying for the cab that got me here. Thomas please...." Tord begged.  
"Give me one reason why I should let the traitor who ruined my life, and my friends' lives into our house again." "Because... because..." Tord broke, tears running down his face. "BECAUSE I'M SCARED! I'M SCARED OF BEING ALONE, I'M SCARED OF LOSING MYSELF, AND I'M SCARED OF LOSING THE PEOPLE I USED TO CALL FRIENDS! I'm scared, Thomas. I just want to be somewhere where I'm not constantly scared of dying." He said.  
His shirt had come almost completely untucked without his knowledge, and the photos were dangerously close to falling onto the wet pavement. Tom blinked in surprise. He'd never seen Tord cry. Tom stepped back slightly, making room for Tord to step inside the house. "Come inside. Just don't make me regret this." He said.  
Tord smiled thankfully, wiping his eyes. He grabbed his suitcase and stepped inside.


	4. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemon Eyes by Meg Myers

Tord took a few steps forward before his shirt came completely untucked, and the photos fell all over the floor. "Faen! Nei nei nei!" He swore, frantically trying to pick them up. Tom closed the door and looked at Tord. He sighed and knelt down to help him. "Look, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry." He said.  
Tord blinked in surprise. "I-it's alright." He said softly. "Tell anyone I said that, and you'll be sleeping on the roof." Tord smiled. "Alright, Tom."  
They finished gathering up the photos. They stood up, and Tom led the way into the living room. Tord set his suitcase by the sofa and sat down. "EDD! MATT! COME HERE A SECOND!" Tom called. Tord couldn't help but notice that he'd said Edd's name a bit quieter than Matt's. Tord heard a door open down the hall.  
A sad, weary voice answered back. "Matt went to get more cola..." Tord almost didn't recognize the voice, but it definitely belonged to Edd. Tom's expression softened. "Ah, I didn't hear him leave. There's someone here to see you." He said gently.  
Soft footsteps made their way to the living room. Edd came into the room, and Tord's eyes widened with horror. Edd looked like he hadn't left his room in weeks. He was thinner than usual, there were dark bags under his eyes, his hair was greasy and all over the place, and his hoodie was covered in stains. Tord stood up. Edd's eyes widened.  
"T-Tord?" "Beklager... Edd, I'm so sorry for-" Tord was cut off by a sharp slap to the face. "Edd!" Tom said, shocked. "You disappear for years, and when you come back, you tell me that it will all be okay! You said we could go back to the way it was! And you lied! You lied, and you destroyed our house, you destroyed our lives, and you destroyed me!" Edd yelled, tears running down his cheeks.  
"I know, and I'm sorry, Edd, but-" Edd cut him off again. "And for some fucking reason, after everything you did, I let myself fall to pieces because I couldn't stop worrying about you! Because I couldn't stop thinking that you might be dead! Because even though you've done so many terrible things, I still want to be your friend!" He cried. Tord was quiet for a moment. He moved closer to Edd and wrapped his arms around him.  
"It's alright, dear friend. I've fallen apart too this past year. I let my guilt and regret go to my head. But for right now, let's try to forget about the past for a bit. You need to be taken care of first." He said gently. He let Edd go, then turned to Tom. "Could you start the shower?" He asked. Tom hesitated for a moment before leaving the room. A few minutes later, the sound of running water was heard.  
"Do you have any clean clothes?" Tord asked. Edd shook his head. "Alright. You can borrow some of mine until yours are washed. Go get in the shower, and I'll wash your clothes." "Y-you don't have to do all this just to make up for-" Tord cut him off. "I'm not doing this to make up for anything. I'm doing this because I care. Now go get in the shower. Call for me when you get in, and I'll come get your dirty clothes."  
Edd nodded. "Thanks." He said with a small smile. He left the room, heading off towards the bathroom.


	5. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait A Minute by Willow Smith

Tord unzipped his suitcase, pulling out his red hoodie, a pair of clean jeans, and a clean pair of boxers. A moment later, Edd called for him. Tord walked down the hallway to the bathroom. He opened the door and stepped inside. "Alright, I'm going to leave these on the sink for you. Put them on when you get out. I'll get you something to eat." Tord said, putting the clean clothes on the sink.  
"Thank you..." Edd said softly. Tord grabbed the laundry basket from behind the bathroom door and carried it into the hallway, closing the door behind him. The basket held Edd's dirty hoodie and jeans. Tord decided to check Edd's room for more dirty clothes before heading to the laundry room. He pushed open the door to Edd's room and gagged as he was hit with the smell of sweat and rotting leftovers.  
"Dritt! Hva i helvete?!" Tord said. Tom looked up from the TV. "What's wrong, commie?" He asked. Tord looked over at him. "When was the last time Edd cleaned his room?" Tord asked.  
Tom shrugged. Tord sighed. He left the basket by Edd's door, walking over to his suitcase. He took off his hoodie, then pulled on an old ripped T-shirt that was a couple sizes too small. "What.... are you doing?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Changing." Tord said, pulling out a pair of sweatpants with cigarette-burned holes in them. Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I can see that. Why are you changing?" Tord quickly changed his pants, then pulled out a red bandanna to tie his hair back and out of the way. "So I can clean Edd's room without dirtying my good clothes." He said, walking towards Edd's room again.  
Tom yawned. "God, you sound like such a mom." He said. Tord ignored him, getting to work. He put all the dirty clothes into the basket, cleaned up all of the old food, and picked up the garbage. He was almost done by the time that Edd got out of the shower.  
Edd walked down the hallway towards his room, noticing that the light was on. "Tord...? What are you doing?" Edd asked, standing in the doorway. "Edd! I didn't think you'd be out yet! I'm cleaning your room up a bit." Tord said, smiling at him. Edd smiled back. "Thanks... Is Matt back yet?"  
As soon as the words left his mouth, a girly shriek came from the front door, which slammed open and hit the wall. Tord chuckled. "Yeah, I think so." He smirked. Edd laughed. Matt came running into the living room.  
"MY HAIR!" He shrieked. Tord sprayed air freshener before following Edd out into the living room. Matt dropped the groceries on the floor. "Why is Todd here?" He asked suspiciously.  
"Tord." Edd corrected. Tom piped up. "And he's here because.... uh... why are you here again?" "Let me get Edd some food first. Then I'll explain."


	6. Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Coming Home by P. Diddy

Matt nodded and picked up the groceries, going to put them away. Tord stepped in front of him, holding out his hands. "Let me help!" He said. Matt hesitated before handing him the bags. Tord went into the kitchen and started putting the groceries in their designated places.  
He left out a cola and a package of bacon. After he was done putting the groceries away, Tord went into the living room and started digging through his suitcase again. He pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants, a red tank-top, and a chef's apron that said 'Kiss The Commie' on it. "Let me change, and I'll make some food." He said. He changed out of his raggedy cleaning clothes and into the clothes he'd just picked out.  
"Can you stop changing in here? It's weird." Tom said. "Ah, sorry. I'm used to it, is all." Tord replied. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the stove before getting a pan out of the cabinet. Tord opened up the package of bacon and placed a few strips into the pan. When the bacon was done, he fished a plate out of the cabinet and put the bacon on it.  
He decided to put the cola in the fridge for later. Tord grabbed a bottle of water instead. He brought the items into the living room and set them in front of Edd. "Here you go. Eat up, sol-" Tord trailed off. "Thank you.... you were going to tell us why you came here?" Edd said softly, eating a strip of bacon.  
"Ah, right. After.... the incident.... my soldiers had to take care of me for weeks. I'd lost all function of my right arm, and they were forced to amputate. Which is why... I have this." He said, flexing the fingers of his bionic arm.  
"After the operation, I was in excruciating pain, physically and emotionally. They put me on painkillers, which numbed me physically. The lack of physical pain just made the emotional pain seem worse. I started locking myself in my office, too ashamed to face my soldiers. Every time I fall asleep.... that day keeps playing over and over in my head. I just.... let it consume me. I fell apart. And The Red Army fell with me. Everyone left except my two best soldiers. Eventually, The Red Army was no longer seen as a public threat. So our bounty posters were all taken down and destroyed. The Army went bankrupt a few months ago. Pat, Pau, and I were forced out of the base this morning for failure to pay rent. We were on our way to the rental place when we were attacked. I sent the men off running, but Pat and Pau were already wounded. I had to call an ambulance. They're in the hospital right now in critical condition. After I was released from the hospital, I had nowhere to go. I started thinking, and eventually I used my last pocket change to come here." Tord finished.  
Matt sniffled, holding on to Tom. "That's so sad." He said, trying not to cry. Tom sighed. "Hey Drama Queen, you're making Steve uncomfortable." He said. Edd picked up the last piece of bacon off the plate and handed it to Tord.  
"I think you deserve this." He said. "For what?" Tord asked. Edd smiled. "Coming home."


	7. Inside Out And Back Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Miss You by Blink 182

"Home..." Tord said softly. He teared up. "After all I did to you... how can you find the kindness to welcome me back into your life?" He asked. "Tord..." Edd said, searching his brain for something to say. "Stupid fucking commie! You're not the only one with a sob story. We've been going through hell too. But out of all of us, Edd's the one who was hit the hardest! I don't know if you could tell, but he stopped taking care of himself ever since you-" Tom was cut off by Tord raising his voice.  
"And what did you do to help him?! Not a goddamn thing!" He shouted, tears running down his face. Tom looked at him, eyes wide. "I.... We tried to help, but..." Tord held up his hand signalling for him to shut up. "But nothing! How long did you try to do something for him before you gave up altogether? Two months?" He asked angrily. "And a half..." Edd said quietly.  
Tom was quiet. Matt sniffled. "You just let him stop taking care of himself. At least my soldiers never gave up on me. If I'd been here, if I hadn't been such a fucking idiot, I'd have taken care of him!" Tord shouted. "If you had been here, then none of this would have happened!" Tom yelled back.  
"Tom-" Matt warned. "Don't you think I know that? When I left, we both fell apart. We both lost a piece of ourselves that day, and we spent an entire year searching for it. I had two friends to help me try to rebuild myself. And Edd? Edd had none. You call yourselves his friends, right? Friends support each other when they need it most. Friends take care of each other. Friends don't let their friend waste away to a third of the person they once were!" Tord said.  
"W-we didn't know what to do!" Matt said. Edd stood up, tears running down his face. "Because you never asked me what I needed!" He said. "This whole time, all I needed was for someone to take care of me, and make me feel like I wasn't just a waste of space! And I never thought that the one who did this to me would be the one who would fix everything in the end!"


	8. Sleep On Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guillotine by Jon Bellion

Tord grabbed Edd's hand, pulling him back down to the couch. He handed Edd the bottle of water. "Crying makes you dehydrated." He explained softly. Edd took a drink and handed the bottle back to Tord, who set it back on the table. Edd leaned into Tord's chest, yawning.  
"It's getting late... We can sort this stuff out in the morning." Tord said. "Where will you sleep?" Edd asked. "I could sleep on the couch. Or if you want me to, I can sleep on the floor in your room." Tord replied. "My room if you don't mind." Edd said. Tord stood up and grabbed the handle of his suitcase in one hand, and Edd's hand in the other.  
"I didn't get the chance to wash your clothes, so you'll have to borrow some of mine for tonight." He said, walking towards Edd's room. "That's fine." Edd looked over his shoulder at Tom and Matt. "Goodnight..." he said quietly. Tord led Edd into his room, closing the door behind him. "I'm sorry about that, Edd. I didn't mean to go off like that." Tord said, letting go of his suitcase handle. "It's alright. You have every reason to be upset." Edd said.  
Tord let go of Edd's hand to unzip his suitcase. "I have a pair of sweatpants that you'd probably fit into. And I have an old t-shirt that you could wear." He said, rummaging through it. "I'll take the t-shirt. I can just sleep in my boxers." Edd said. Tord handed him the t-shirt. It was light green and said "Tord's BF" on it. "My best friend shirt! I've been looking for this for years!" Edd said in surprise.  
"I didn't want to leave you with anything that would make you miss me." Tord explained. He pulled out a red shirt that said "Edd's BF" on it. "Wanna match?" He asked. Edd smiled. "Do you even have to ask?" He said.  
Tord chuckled. He pulled off his hoodie and set it on Edd's computer chair before pulling the shirt on. Edd did the same. Edd took off his pants and tossed them into the basket full of dirty laundry. Tord took off his sweats and shoved them into his suitcase.  
"Do you have any extra blankets?" He asked. Edd opened his closet and rummaged around in it. "All I have is the comforter from our old bunk beds." He said, pulling out a white and black blanket. "That's fine." Tord said, taking the blanket and laying it out on the carpet. He rummaged in his suitcase and pulled out a thin blue sheet and a small Spider-man pillow, which he laid on top of the comforter.  
Ringo meowed softly, jumping off of Edd's bed. He curled up next to Tord's pillow. "Goodnight Ringo." Edd said, petting his cat before climbing into bed. Tord turned off the light. He laid down and covered up with the thin sheet.  
"Goodnight, Edd." He said. "Goodnight Tord." Edd replied. They both normally took hours to fall asleep, but the presence of each other calmed them both, and they fell asleep rather quickly. Tord had the same dream he always had. It started off with partial flashbacks of the fun times that he'd had with Edd, Tom and Matt.  
Then, it faded into explosions and Edd's cry of "I thought we were friends!" He woke up in a cold sweat, tears running down his cheeks. He heard whimpering, and looked over at Edd. Edd was tossing and turning in his sleep. Tord stood up and shook Edd gently.  
"Edd, wake up. Edd! Våkn opp! Det er bare en drøm!" He said. Edd gasped and sat up, his eyes snapping open. "T-Tord?" He asked softly. "It's alright, old friend. I'm here." Edd wrapped his arms around Tord, hugging him tightly.  
He felt a tear fall on his cheek. "You're crying..." Edd said softly. "Ah, yes, sorry. It... happens every night. I've gotten used to it." Tord explained. He heard a soft meow. "Ringo? What is it, liten katt?" Ringo stood up, jumping onto Edd's bed and curling up next to where Tord was sitting.  
"Ah, no liten en. We have to sleep on the floor." Tord went to get up, but Ringo bit down on his shirt. "Ringo! Let go!" Edd chuckled. "It's alright. You can sleep up here if you want. I know the floor isn't all that comfortable. And Ringo isn't going to let you get up, anyways." He said.  
Tord was quiet for a moment. "Are you sure it's okay?" He asked. Edd nodded. "It'll be like old times." He smiled. Tord smiled. "Alright." He reached over and grabbed his pillow off the floor, then laid down.  
He covered up with the blanket, and Ringo curled up next to him. "Wake me up if you have a nightmare, alright?" Edd said, laying down. "You too." Tord yawned. They both fell asleep with the comforting thought that they'd both protect each other. And for the first time in a year, there were no nightmares running through their heads.


	9. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Is Gospel by Panic! At The Disco

Tord woke up the next morning to a mouthful of cat fur and Edd's leg over his chest. He spluttered and sat up, trying to get the fur out of his mouth. "Ringo! Did you have to shed in my mouth? Faen, that's disgusting..." He looked over at Edd, who was sleeping upside down with the top half of his torso hanging off the bed. Ringo pawed at Tord's arm, meowing insistently.  
"Liten katt, it's too early to get up. Go back to sleep." Ringo looked offended. Well, as offended as a cat can look. Tord sighed. "Alright, I'll feed you. But then we're going back to bed." He grumbled, getting out of bed.  
He quietly unzipped his suitcase and got out a bottle of contact solution and an eyepatch. He snuck into the hallway, heading towards the bathroom. He took out his right contact, looking in the mirror at his muted brown eye. It didn't come close to matching his other one. And if the others found out that he was blind in one eye, Tord was sure that they'd laugh and deem him useless.  
He sighed and put the eyepatch on, putting his contact in a small container full of contact solution. He put the lid on it and put it in his pocket. He looked back at his reflection, lifting the eyepatch. He put his hand up to his cheek. "Ugly..." he muttered to himself.  
"What's ugly?" Tord spun around, finding himself face to face with Matt. "Uh, n-nothing! Nothing at all!" He lied. He didn't look too convincing since his eyepatch was still flipped up. Matt's eyes widened.  
"Tord, what happened to your eye?" He asked in surprise. "The shrapnel from the robot explosion blinded me. But it's just in this eye. The other one is fine. But... I look ugly." Tord said softly, looking away from Matt. "Don't tell anyone, okay?" He said. "I won't. But you don't look ugly." Matt said. Tord sighed.  
"Whatever. Come on Ringo. Breakfast time." He said, flipping his eyepatch down and leaving the bathroom. He walked into the kitchen, Ringo in tow. He opened a can of cat food, knowing that Edd would have everything in the exact same place as they'd always been, even if the house was new. After feeding Ringo, Tord went back to Edd's room. Edd was sitting at his computer when Tord came in.  
"Oh, there you are. Let me guess, Ringo woke you up?" Tord nodded, flopping onto the bed. "I'm so tired." He mumbled into the pillow. "Then go to sleep." Edd said, clicking away. Tord propped himself up on his elbow.  
"What are you doing, anyways?" He asked. Edd shrugged. "Not really sure. I'm animating something random." He said. "Mm, that's nice. If you need any help with voice acting or sound effects, tell me when I wake up." Tord said drowsily, rolling over and falling asleep. A few minutes later, Tom poked his head into Edd's room.  
"Hey Edd? Can you come here for a minute?" Edd stood up and stretched before going into the living room. Matt was sitting on one side of the sofa, and Tom was sitting next to him, his arm around Matt's shoulders. "You might want to sit down." Tom said. Edd sat down next to him.  
"Is something wrong?" He asked. "Tord has been keeping something from us. When I got up this morning to do my morning face inspection, he was standing at the mirror saying something about him looking ugly. And then when I asked him what he was talking about, he turned around and... he's blind in his right eye. He told me not to tell anyone, but... I just had to." Matt said, laying his head on Tom's chest. To Edd's surprise, Tom didn't protest. He just gently rubbed Matt's back. "It's okay. You did the right thing." He said softly, kissing Matt's forehead.  
Edd's jaw dropped. "Wait a fucking minute. Are you guys a thing?!" He asked in surprise. Tom's face turned completely red. "I don't think so. Unless you wanna be?" Matt said, looking up at Tom. "Um, y-yeah, sure. I mean! I-I'd love to!" Tom said awkwardly.  
Edd blinked. "Okay, what just happened?" He asked. It was turning out to be a very weird morning. The kind of morning that makes you want to turn back time and tell yourself not to leave your room. The kind that makes you tired all over again and makes getting up seem like an exhausting and pointless effort.  
Edd knew he'd have to sleep this off later once his brain had time to process everything. "So, you guys have been flirting with each other for...how long exactly?" Matt thought for a moment. "Two months?" "Two months?! And you didn't say anything to me?!" Edd exclaimed.  
Tom shifted uneasily. "You were kind of holed up in your room... we didn't want to bother you." Matt said quietly. "I wouldn't consider my friends telling me they're gay for each other 'bothering me'." Edd smiled, nudging Matt with his elbow. Matt giggled. "Speaking of flirting, how are you and Eduardo?" Tom smirked.  
He pronounced Eduardo's name with a mocking sing-song tone. Edd flushed slightly. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about." He lied. Matt giggled. "You guys were totally making goo-goo eyes at each other when they were rebuilding the house." He teased.  
"Yeah, and he always leaves boxes of cola on the doorstep. Which he had to have bought specifically for you, since he only likes diet cola." Tom said smugly. Edd blushed. He waved them off. "Y-yeah, right. Stop jumping to conclusions." He stuttered. Tord was standing near Edd's cracked door, listening to their conversation.  
He hadn't heard Matt tell his secret, but he did hear everything after that. And he wasn't sure why he felt a sinking feeling when Eduardo's name was mentioned. Why did Edd like him so much anyways? What could he give Edd that Tord couldn't? Tord laid back down on Edd's bed, sighing.  
Ringo pushed his way into the room, meowing a hello. "Hei, liten katt..." Tord said. Ringo jumped up onto the bed, climbing onto his chest. "God, what is this feeling? Why would I suddenly be jealous of Eduardo? And why did it hurt so much when Edd showed interest in him?" Tord said, talking to no one in particular. Ringo yawned, curling up on his chest and falling asleep.  
"Mm, good idea liten katt. I'll figure this out later." He yawned. "Goodnight Ringo..." he mumbled quietly. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	10. The City Of Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hungover In The City Of Dust by Autoheart

A loud ticking noise filled Tord's head. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around him. He was in the middle of a city that looked like it had gone through the apocalypse. Buildings were destroyed, large holes in the walls and entire sections missing. There was dust everywhere, and the only sound was a distant broken tornado siren.  
It's choppy wails filled Tord with unease. He didn't want to be here. He stood up, walking slowly down the crumbling sidewalk. He walked past a store with an array of mirrors displayed in the window. As he walked past it, he saw a familiar silhouette in one of the mirrors.  
He turned his head back towards it. Nothing. Tord walked on, distancing himself from the store. He came across an abandoned birthday party set up in front of a house. Shredded tablecloths, broken cups, and bloodstains littered the area.  
A low growl sounded from the house. Tord looked towards it just in time to see a long tail flick past the window. Terrified, he ran down the street, looking for any familiar landmarks. He stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him was Edd's house.  
He cautiously walked towards it, knocking gently on the door. The door cracked open, a familiar green eye looking through. "Tord?" It asked shakily. "Edd? Edd, let me in, I think something's after me." Tord said frantically. Edd opened the door and Tord stepped inside.  
Edd locked the door. He sat on the couch next to Tord, who was currently hugging his knees to his chest in fear. "Are you alright?" Edd asked softly. Tord shook his head. "I'm so scared, Edd. Nothing's right in this place." He said shakily. Edd looked at him for a moment. "Do you want me to help you take your mind off of it?" He asked.  
Tord was quiet for a moment. He nodded, putting his feet down on the floor. Edd got closer to him. Uncomfortably close. Tord felt his face flush.  
"W-what are you doing?" "Taking your mind off things." Edd said calmly. He inched closer and closer. Something inside Tord suddenly told him that something was terribly wrong. He pushed Edd off of him.  
"No, stop!" Edd looked at him in shock. His shocked expression turned to one of pure malice. "Alright. We'll do this the hard way." He said, his voice low and threatening. His eyes began glowing green, toxic sludge leaking from them.  
Tord cowered away from him. "What... are you?" He whispered. Edd laughed maniacally. "Your worst nightmare." He raised a knife over his head and swung it down, aiming directly at Tord's heart.


	11. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wake Me Up by Avicii

Tord woke up screaming. Edd rushed into the room. "Tord! What's wrong?" He asked, running to his side. Tord clung to him, crying into his shoulder. Edd wrapped his arms around him.  
"It's alright. It was just a nightmare. You're safe now." He said softly. Tord sat there clinging to Edd's shirt until he'd cried himself dry. Edd ran his fingers through his hair, humming softly to calm him down. Tord relaxed, leaning into him. "Sorry I screamed..." he mumbled softly.  
"It's okay. Are you alright now?" Edd asked. Tord nodded, his head still buried in Edd's shoulder. "The hospital called a few minute ago. You weren't awake, so I picked up. Your friend is awake." Edd said. Tord pulled away, wiping his eyes. "Which one?"  
Edd thought for a moment. "Patryck, I think." He said. Tord stood up. He started digging through his suitcase. "I have to go see him."  
Edd was quiet for a moment. "Will you come back this time?" He asked. Tord looked at Edd, and they were both quiet. Finally, Tord hugged him. "I'll be back this time. I promise."  
Edd hugged him back. "Do you need a ride?" He asked as Tord went back to pulling clothes out of his suitcase. Tord pulled out a pair of jeans. "Yeah, actually. I spent the last of my money on cab fare last night." He pulled them on and then tossed a pair to Edd.  
"Remind me to do your laundry when we get back." Edd smiled gratefully, pulling the jeans on. They put their shoes on and left the room. When they entered the living room, they found Matt laying with his head in Tom's lap, letting the brunette play with his hair while they watched TV. Tom looked up when they entered the room.  
"Oh, hey guys. Going somewhere?" He asked. Tord nodded. "Going to see my da- er... friend. At the hospital." He said. "Edd's giving me a ride." Edd nodded in agreement.  
"Mmkay, don't die or anything." Tom said, turning his attention back to Matt. Tord and Edd walked outside and got into Edd's car, affectionately nicknamed The Cola-Mobile because of it's overwhelming amount of cola brand bumper stickers. And if you looked very closely, you could still see the faded Cola Milf on Board sticker that Tord had placed on the rear windshield. Tord clicked his seatbelt into place and relaxed into the familiar seats. Everything was exactly the same as before.  
The alcohol stain on the back seat from Tom, the lipstick stains on the sunshield mirror from Matt, and the random assortment of empty cola cans on the backseat floorboard. Tord saw the edge of a magazine sticking out of the glove box. "Oh. My god." He opened the glove compartment and his hentai stash fell out. "OH MY GOD." He squealed.  
Edd blushed, his eyes drawn to a particularly explicit picture. "Tord, put those back in there, they're disgusting." He said. Tord pouted. "Fineee..." he said, reluctantly putting the hentai back into the glove box. "I can't believe you kept them!" He said happily. Edd rolled his eyes.  
"To be completely honest, I just forgot they were in there." He said with a smile. Tord shrugged. "Whatever. Okay, the distraction has passed, let's go." He said. He gave Edd the hospital's address, and they arrived there in no time. When they got inside, Tord gave the receptionist Pat's room number.  
They got into the elevator and headed up to his room. The door was already open, and Pat was sitting up in bed swiping through his phone's gallery. He looked worried and sad. Tord knocked on the doorway. "Hey."  
Pat quickly hid his phone. He relaxed a little when he saw it was Tord. "Hey." He said with a slightly forced smile. Tord walked into the room, Edd hesitantly trailing behind him. They sat down in the chairs next to Pat's hospital bed.  
"What are you looking at?" Tord asked. Pat averted his eyes. "It's nothing..." he said softly. "Patryck." Tord said. Pat hesitated, then turned his phone slightly so that Tord and Edd could see the screen.  
A picture of Pau was on the screen. Tord remembered when it was taken. The Red Army had gone on vacation to celebrate their imminent victory. Pau had proposed to Pat with a flower crown because he'd forgotten the ring at the base. And then, after Pat said yes, they'd laid down in a clearing and cloud-gazed, talking about their future together.  
Tord remembered that day very well because he'd been there, helping Pau make the flower crowns, keeping Pat distracted until the right moment, silently cloud-gazing while they talked about their future. "Tord, what if... what if he doesn't make it? What if he..." Pat started crying, unable to finish his sentence. Tord hugged him tightly. "He's going to make it, Dad. He wouldn't leave us." He said. Edd blinked in surprise.  
Out of all the words that could've come out of Tord's mouth, 'Dad' had been the least expected. Pat sniffled, drying his eyes. "Yeah... you're right. Sorry for making a scene in front of your boyfriend." He said. Tord's face turned red. "H-he's not my boyfriend!" He stammered.  
Edd smiled, holding his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Edd, one of Tord's friends." He said. Pat smiled back, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Edd. I'm Patryck, but you can call me Pat." A moment later, a nurse walked into the room.  
"I'm very sorry, but it's time for the patient to rest." She said. Pat sighed. He hugged Tord goodbye and waved goodbye to Edd. "Oh, and Tord?" Pat said when they reached the door. "Yeah Dad?" "Check on Paul for me."  
Tord smiled. "I will." He promised. "Sleep well, Pat." Edd said, waving goodbye. They stepped out into the hallway and the nurse closed the door behind them.


	12. Citrus Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemon Boy by Cavetown

They walked a bit further down the hall, Tord leading the way. "Paul's room is a couple doors down." Tord explained. Edd nodded, quietly following him. Tord knocked gently just in case. The door was unlocked, and he pushed it open with ease.  
Paul was laying in the hospital bed, still unconscious. Edd quietly sat down, watching Tord move his chair closer to the hospital bed. Tord was silent, taking in Paul's current state. He was hooked up to several machines, and his breathing was slow and shallow, but his heart rate and blood pressure seemed to be relatively stable. Edd moved his chair up next to Tord's.  
"Tord?" He asked softly. Tord blinked and looked over at him. His eyes were misty, like he was only seconds away from bursting into tears. Edd turned his body towards Tord, opening his arms. "Do you want a hug? You look like you could use some cheering up so-" he was interrupted by Tord practically throwing himself into his arms.  
Tord gripped tightly onto Edd's shirt, burying his face into his chest. Edd wrapped his arms around him. "Everything's going to be okay..." he said softly. Tord felt his eyes fill up with tears. His body wracked with sobs as all his built up emotions came flooding out.  
He half expected Edd to make a sarcastic comment and awkwardly pull away like he used to do every time Tord cried. But Edd didn't pull away. And he didn't say anything. He didn't even consider it. Edd knew that right now Tord needed all the support he could get.  
After a while, Tord's sobs quieted into soft sniffles, and his grip on Edd's shirt loosened. He carefully pulled away. "Sorry..." he said softly. "For crying on me?" Edd asked. Tord shook his head.  
Edd tilted his head slightly, not understanding. "Then what?" He asked softly. "Everything!" Tord said. "Existing! I don't know!" "Tord..."  
"I ruined everything! I ruined your life, I ruined your neighbor's lives!" "Tord." "I killed someone!" "Tord!" "It's my fault that Patryck and Paul are hurt, and-" "TORD!"  
Tord fell silent, fresh tears running down his cheeks. "Look at me..." Edd said softly. Tord looked over at him hesitantly. Edd cupped his cheeks gently, looking into his eyes. "Not everything is your fault, Tord. You always put so much weight on your shoulders, even when you know it's too much for you. And when things go wrong, you blame it all on yourself. You're going to make mistakes, Tord. Some may be bigger than others. But everyone makes mistakes. That's what makes us human." He said softly.  
"Why are you telling me this? Why are you comforting me? Don't you hate me?" Tord asked. Edd's gaze softened. "Tord, I could never hate you. It may take me a while to forgive you, but... I don't hate you. Ever since you came back, you've stood up for me, you've taken care of me, you've saved me from a nightmare, and you've proven that you're still my friend." He said. Tord smiled. "And found my hentai collection."  
Edd chuckled. "That too." Tord grabbed Edd's hands gently. "Thank you..." he said. "For what?" "Caring about me." Edd smiled back at him. "You're welcome."


	13. Talk To Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk To Me by Cavetown

They left a few minutes later, without saying goodbye to Paul. Tord was afraid that his last words to his dad would be 'goodbye', so he'd opted for silence instead. Edd unlocked the car and climbed into the driver's seat, waiting for Tord to fill the seat next to him. He turned the car on just as Tord clicked his seatbelt into place. They drove back towards Edd's house, the radio playing quietly.  
Tord looked out the window, watching the familiar scenery pass by. His thoughts swarmed in, welcomed by the absence of conversation. He suddenly remembered what had happened that morning. He'd felt so.... jealous. It was jealousy, wasn't it?  
He could've just been overprotective of Edd, but... he didn't feel defensive at all. But why would he be jealous? Tord sighed softly. Nothing made sense anymore. His train of thought was interrupted as Edd suddenly broke the silence. "Talk to me."  
Tord blinked and turned to look at him. "What?" "There's something on your mind, right?" Edd asked. Tord nodded hesitantly. "So talk to me about it."  
Tord hesitated. "Well... I'm just confused, I guess." He said. "About what?" Tord shrugged. "Just... my feelings. And myself. I keep having these thoughts... and they don't make any sense to me."  
Edd looked at him curiously. And suddenly everything came pouring out. "There was this girl... she went to the Red Army's Trainee Academy. And she was perfect. She was so... confident. She walked with purpose, and there was this aura around her, like she was invincible. And she was gorgeous too. I... I thought I was in love. But... I wasn't. And I see that now. I idolized her, but... in reality, I never actually had any feelings for her." He was quiet for a moment, and his expression softened.  
"And then... there was this guy..." Tord smiled at the memory. "He always made me laugh. Always had my back. And his eyes... they had a way of trapping me and reading everything on my mind. I felt so vulnerable around him. But it was the good kind of vulnerable..." he fell silent.  
"But... he left the Army. And I was more upset than I should have been, but... I didn't really think much about it until now. I think I was in love with him." Edd pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car, giving Tord his undivided attention.  
Tord shifted uncomfortably and continued. "And... this morning. I overheard you guys talking. When Tom was teasing you about..." he frowned. "About liking Eduardo?" Edd asked gently. Tord nodded. "Yeah... that. And when I heard your reaction... I don't know why, but... I was jealous. I am jealous."  
Tord clenched his fists, staring at the floorboard of the car. "I just don't get it! What does he have that I don't?" He turned to face Edd, looking him in the eye. "I know everything about you! All Eduardo knows is that you like cola and the color green! You deserve so much better than him, an I know I'm not the ideal choice, but dammit, if I was yours, I could be better for you!" He said loudly. Edd blinked.  
"T-Tord..." he said in shock. Tord felt tears start running down his cheeks. "I know I'm not perfect, Edd." He pulled off his eyepatch, uncovering his blind eye. "And I know that I'm ugly. And I know that my mind's fucked up, and I'm not always the bravest, but..." he sniffled.  
"I think I could fall in love with you. And... I hope that counts for something."


	14. Brokenhearted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Broken Hearts Club by Gnash

They were silent. Edd averted his eyes. "Tord..." he started. Tord's heart sunk. "It's fine. Just forget I said anything." He said, turning to face the front windshield.  
Edd looked at him, his expression hard to read. "I'm really sorry..." he said, putting his hand out to comfort Tord. Tord pulled his arm away as soon as Edd's hand touched it. He glared at Edd. "I don't need your pity. I told you to forget it. Just drop it and take me home." He said coldly.  
Edd drew his hand back, a hurt look on his face. "...alright." he said softly. He restarted the car and pulled back onto the road. Tord looked out the window silently. Fresh tears ran down his face.  
Of course Edd didn't like him. He was a monster. Yeah, they'd been friends once. Maybe more. But this.  
This wouldn't work. Not ever. Edd pulled into the driveway and they both got out of the car. Tord looked up at the sky just in time to see a shooting star streak across it. He closed his eyes and practically begged for a chance to prove himself to Edd.  
After a minute, he opened his eyes and sighed softly. "Shooting stars never do anything anyways..." He grumbled to himself. He walked towards the front door and went into the house, heading straight for the bathroom so he could cry in peace. Tom was in the shower. "Hello?" He said out of habit.  
"It's just me, Thomas..." Tord said. "Oh, hey. How was the hospital visit?" Tom asked. "It... was good, I guess." He said. He sat down on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. Tom was quiet for a moment.  
"Did something happen? You sound... dead." He said. Tord was quiet. "Well, I came in here to cry, so... If I stop restraining my emotions, I might start crying like a little baby." Tom shut off the water. He stuck his hand out from behind the shower curtain and grabbed his clothes and towel off of the sink.  
He dried off and pulled on his clothes before pulling open the shower curtain and getting out. He knelt down to Tord's level. "Do you want to talk about it?" Tord shook his head. "Okay... Do you want a hug or something then?"  
After a minute, Tord nodded. Tom didn't actually think he'd say yes, so he was caught slightly off guard. He awkwardly opened his arms and Tord hugged him loosely. Tom rubbed his back consolingly. "It's okay to cry, Tord." He said quietly.  
And then the dam broke. Tord started sobbing into Tom's hoodie, clinging to him tightly. Tom was honestly shocked. He'd never seen Tord this upset before. What could possibly be so bad that he would find comfort in Tom?  
Before he got the chance to ask, words started spewing out of Tord's mouth. "I don't know why I thought he would ever like me back it was so obvious that he doesn't why did I even try I'm so stupid and and and-" he started hyperventilating. "Hey hey hey, breathe! Just calm down... and breathe." Tom waited until Tord had caught his breath. "What happened?" He asked.  
Tord sniffled. "I don't know... I was just thinking about things, and then the next thing I know... I'm ruining things all over again." He said softly. "What did you do?" Tom asked. "I... I told Edd that I was jealous of Eduardo. I told him that he deserved better, and then.... I told him that I could fall in love with him." Tord's eyes filled with tears.  
"And then... he rejected me. And I pushed him away." He said. "Tord..." Tom said softly. He stood up and pulled Tord to his feet. "Why don't we go get a drink? That always cheers me up." He offered. Tord was quiet for a minute.  
He slowly nodded. "Alright..." Tom walked out of the bathroom, flicking the light off and the fan on. Hopefully the humidity would be gone by the time that Matt went to brush his teeth. If the humidity even touched Matt's hair, all hell would break loose.  
Tord followed Tom into the living room where Edd was asleep on the couch. The TV was on, but knowing Edd, it was just so he could try (and evidently fail) to keep himself awake. Tord looked at him and felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He noticed that Edd was covered with his (now clean) green hoodie. He was curled up in a little ball, shivering slightly in his sleep.  
"I'll go start the car." Tom said quietly, grabbing the keys and walking outside. Tord walked toward the door. He stopped and looked back at Edd. With a small dejected sigh, he walked towards the couch. Tord noticed that his black hoodie was on the floor.  
Edd's hand loosely gripped one of the sleeves, and it seemed to be wrapped around his wrist. Had Edd been snuggling his hoodie? Tord shook his head. What was he thinking? Edd was probably just using it as a pillow.  
He picked it up off of the floor and went to pull it away from Edd. Edd mumbled something in his sleep, his grip tightening on the sleeve. Tord didn't want to wake Edd, but he couldn't go out to a crowded place without a hoodie. They made him feel safe. He gently ran his thumb over the hoodies soft inner lining.  
The fabric was thicker than Edd's hoodie, and it was much warmer. Tord quickly came up with a solution. He carefully took Edd's hoodie, draping his own hoodie over Edd instead, careful not to wake him. He pulled on Edd's hoodie and walked out the door, quietly closing it behind him.


	15. Drunk Over You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

Tord walked out to the car and climbed into the passenger seat. Tom noticed that he was wearing Edd's hoodie. "Are... are you sure that's a good idea? You're trying to get over him, right?" Tom asked gently. Tord pulled the hood on, clicked his seatbelt into place, and opened up the glove box. "Just shut up and drive, Thomas..." he pulled out whatever hentai was on the top and started reading.  
Tom raised his eyebrow at the cover of it, but he pulled out of the driveway nonetheless. They were about halfway to the bar when Tom's curiosity took over. He looked over at the title of the hentai, which was of course in Japanese. Boku... No Pico? He made a mental reminder to ask Tord about it when they arrived.  
They got to the bar and found a parking spot by the doors. "Oh, you got superstar parking. Nice." Tord said seriously. Tom sighed heavily. "Tord, you sound like my mom. And Edd's mom. And Matt's mom." He said. Tord shrugged.  
"My dads always say that when we get a good parking spot." They got out of the car and walked toward the entrance. "Your dads are also part of your army, right?" Tom asked. Tord nodded, a wistful smile on his face. "Yeah. They're my two best soldiers."  
He frowned. "Well... they were. Until the army fell in disrepair. It's gone now." The bouncer stopped them. "ID?" He asked. Tord immediately realized that he didn't have his ID.  
To his surprise, Tom pulled out a copy of Tord's ID, along with his own. The bouncer let them inside. "Where did you get that?" Tom shrugged. "I have copies of everyone's ID, just in case. Wouldn't want to lose the real thing while you're drunk."  
They found a booth and sat down across from each other. "So... you want anything special?" Tom asked. "Umm... whiskey I guess." Tom nodded and called over a waitress. He ordered their drinks and awkwardly stared at the table until they arrived.  
Once the waitress brought their drinks, Tom immediately took a huge swig, drinking half of it. "So... what's Boku no Pico?" Tord spit his drink out, getting it all over the table. "W-what?!" He spluttered. "Boku no Pico. You were reading it in the car, right?" Tom asked.  
"You can read Japanese?!" Tord asked. Tom shrugged. "Kinda. So what is it?" Tord laughed nervously. "It uh... it's not important. Besides, you don't even like hentai." He said.  
Tom frowned. "Yes I do." Tord blinked. "Wait, seriously?" "Yeah. I just prefer the videos over the manga." Tom said.  
Tord sighed and took a swig of his whiskey. "Well, if you're really that curious, then you can look it up. There's three episodes, but I highly doubt you'll get through the first one." He said. Tom smirked. "Is that a challenge, commie?" Tord smiled.  
"I'd say so, Jehovah's witness. If you last through all three episodes, I'll sing karaoke in front of everyone." Tom grinned. "You're on. OI WAITRESS! SIX VODKAS AND SIX WHISKEYS!" He called. He turned back to Tord. "I figure it's better to order them in bulk so we can get drunk quicker." He explained.  
Tord nodded in agreement. He moved to the other side of the booth, next to Tom, and guided him to the right website. "Wait, you need headphones." He said. Tom dug through his pockets and found a pair of checkered earbuds. He plugged them into his phone and put one in, leaving the otherbone out so he could still hear Tord.  
Their drinks came a few minutes later, and by the third episode's opening, they were already drunk. Tom finished the last episode and put his phone down on the table. He took out his earbud and looked over at Tord. "That wasn't too bad." He said. Tord smiled and patted his shoulder.  
"Guess you won then. So...so now I have to sing." He said. "Yeahhh." Tom said, opening an app and sliding his phone over to Tord. "You just gotta put in the song you want, and then uh... then they'll call you up. To the... tall floory thing." He'd momentarily forgotten the word 'stage'. Tord typed in the song title.  
He typed in his name and hit the send button. "Mn, gimme my phone." Tom said, making grabby hands in Tord's general direction. Tord handed it to him and turned his attention towards the stage. There were quite a lot of people in front of him, so he knew it would be a fairly long time before it was his turn to sing. He turned back to face Tom, who was currently struggling to remember which contact was Matt's.  
He finally chose the one named 'Pretty Boy' and hit the call button. After a few rings, Matt picked up. "Hello!" He said cheerfully. "Matttt." Tom whined. Matt sighed.  
He knew that tone. "Tom, are you drunk again?" There was a silence. "Nooo..." Tom lied. He was quiet for a minute.  
"...maybe." he admitted. "Do you want me to come pick you up?" Matt asked tiredly. "Yeah, but Tord's gotta sing before we go home." He giggled. Matt sighed. "Alright, we're on our way."


	16. Serenade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best Friend originally by Rex Orange County and covered by Cavetown

Tord waited patiently for his turn, watching the door for Edd and Matt. Since Tom was drunk, he'd accidentally hit the speaker button without realizing it. Tord knew that they'd be coming soon, and he felt himself feeling a little upset that Edd wouldn't be there to hear him sing. Finally, it was Tord's turn to sing. He walked up to the stage, radiating more confidence than usual.  
He grabbed the microphone and turned his back to the screen, facing everyone in the bar. He knew the song by heart, there was no need to look at the lyrics. Edd and Matt walked in just as the opening notes played. Matt saw Tord on the stage and walked toward it, intending to pull him offstage. Edd stuck out an arm to hold him back.  
"Edd, what are you..." he looked into Edd's eyes and fell silent. Edd's eyes sparkled with an eager excitement that Matt hadn't seen in a year. "He's about to show everyone here how that song is meant to be sung." Edd had known Tord longer than he could remember, and he knew what happened when Tord got drunk.  
When everyone else got drunk, they became a mess, acting on impulse and losing all sensibility. But when Tord got drunk, he became completely unfiltered. If he told you that he could do anything at that moment, you would've believed it in an instant. Matt went over to the table and sat next to Tom. Edd didn't move.  
He kept his eyes on the stage. Tord closed his eyes and started to sing.  
"I should have stayed at home  
'Cause right now I see all these people that love me but I still feel alone  
Can't help but check my phone  
I could have made you mine  
But no it wasn't meant to be and see I wasn't made for you and you weren't made for me  
Though it seemed so easy...

And that's because I wanna be your favourite boy  
I wanna be the one that makes your day  
The one you think about as you lie awake  
I can't wait to be your number one  
I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine  
But I still wanna break your heart and make you cry...

But won't you wait  
You know it's too late  
I'm on my own shit now  
Let me tell you how it feels to be fucking great  
I feel great...

You need to be yourself  
Love someone for loving you instead of someone really cool that makes your heart melt  
Who knows what you truly felt  
You're still my favourite boy  
You better trust me when I tell you there ain't no one else more beautiful in this damn world  
In this damn world...

You're gonna wanna be my best friend baby  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend  
I said that  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend baby  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend baby  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend  
Best friend  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend baby  
You're gonna wanna be my best friend...

I say that I'm happy  
I say that I'm happy  
But I know, know, know, know  
Know, know, know, oh...

I still wanna be your favourite boy  
I wanna be the one that makes your day  
The one you think about as you lie awake  
And I can't wait to be your number - your number one  
I'll be your biggest fan and you'll be mine  
But I still wanna break your heart and make you cry...

I still wanna be your favourite boy  
I wanna be the one...  
I might just be the one..."  
Tord opened his eyes and looked out at the crowd with a calm smile. The bar filled with the sound of drunken applause. "Tord!" Edd yelled. Tord looked around, finally spotting Edd. "Edd?" He whispered softly.  
Edd smiled at him. Tord's eyes filled with tears. He dropped the microphone and ran off the stage towards Edd. "Edd!" He said happily. He hugged him tightly, nearly knocking him over.  
Edd laughed, hugging him back. Tord pulled away, putting his hands on Edd's shoulders. "Did you hear me?! Did you hear me sing?!" He asked excitedly. Edd smiled. "Of course I did. You were amazing as always." He said warmly.  
Tord grabbed Edd's hands and squeezed them gently. "I sang it for you, Edd. Did you really like it?" He asked, looking into Edd's eyes. Edd blushed slightly. "Y-yeah. Yeah I did. It was awesome." He said softly, looking up into Tord's eyes.


	17. Adoring Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

Matt walked over to them, and Edd let go of Tord's hands. Tom was leaning on Matt for support and drunkenly flirting with him. "Heyyy hot stuff. Got a boyfriend?" Tom slurred. "Tom, you ARE my boyfriend." Matt said. Tom was quiet for a minute.  
"Oh. So... wanna come back to my place?" He asked. Matt sighed tiredly. "We live in the same house, Tom." He said. "Ohhhh. Cooool." Tom said. Tord and Edd looked at each other and snickered.  
Matt looked at them. "We should get going. If I have to hear one more bad pick-up line, I'm going to kill him." They walked toward the door and out into the parking lot. "How did you two even get here?" Tord asked. "Oh, Eduardo let us borrow his car." Matt said.  
Tord put on a fake smile. "Oh, goodie! I just looove Eduardo! He's so generous and kind!" He said sarcastically. "But you hate Eduardo." Tom slurred. Tord frowned. "Yeah no shit, Thomas!" He said loudly.  
Matt walked over to Eduardo's car. "Alright, this is it. Edd, where are the keys?" Matt asked. Edd reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys. He handed them to Matt, who unlocked the doors and shoved Tom into the backseat. Matt climbed into the driver's seat.  
"I assume you're taking your car back to the house?" He asked Edd. "I don't know where the keys are." Edd said. Tord smiled and pulled them out of his pocket. "They're right here."  
Edd smiled. "Sweet! Alright, you go with Matt, and I'll meet you guys back at the house." Edd said, reaching for the keys. Tord held them above his head, out of Edd's reach. "Mm, no I think I'll go with you." He smirked. "Tord! Give me the keys!" Edd said.  
Tord laughed. "Come on, Edd. I have your keys and your hoodie, AND I know where the car is parked. We're all going to the same place, right?" He said, meeting Edd's gaze. His voice had an authoritive, smooth tone to it. Edd blushed slightly. "Y-yeah..." he said softly. "Then let's go." Tord said, walking towards Edd's car.  
Matt waved to Edd and shut the car door, turning the car on and pulling out of the parking lot. Edd waved back, reluctantly following Tord. Tord slowed down and fell into step with Edd. He reached over and grabbed Edd's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Um... Tord, what are you doing?" Edd asked.  
"Holding your hand, obviously." Tord smiled. Edd was about to ask why, but at that moment, a drunk driver trying to leave the parking lot, swerved towards them. Edd's eyes widened in fear. Tord pulled him out of the way, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING JACKASS!" Tord yelled after the driver.  
He turned his attention back to Edd. "Are you okay, love?" He asked worriedly. "I-I think so..." Edd said. He didn't mind that Tord had called him 'love'. After all, if it weren't for him, Edd would be dead.  
Edd looked up at him and smiled reassuringly. Tord smiled back. He relaced his fingers with Edd's, and they kept walking towards the car. When they reached it, Tord handed Edd the keys. "Here you go, princess." Tord teased.  
Edd smiled. "Thank you, dear knight." He giggled. He unlocked the car doors, and they got in. They were quiet for a few minutes. "Hey Tord?" Edd asked softly.  
"Hm?" Tord asked, turning to look at him. Edd looked at him and smiled. "Thank you." He said. Tord smiled back. "You're welcome, beautiful." He said.  
Edd blushed. "I-I'm not beautiful." He said, averting his gaze. "Bullshit. You're the most beautiful person I know." Tord said seriously. Edd sighed. "You can stop lying now, Tord. It's not funny." He said.  
Tord put his hand on Edd's cheek. "Edd. Look at me." He said. Edd slowly met his eyes. "You are beautiful, Edd. Inside and out." Tord said. His eyes radiated pure honesty, and overwhelming love and adoration.  
Edd blushed. He smiled, putting his hand over Tord's. "You really think so?" He asked. Tord smiled. "I know so."  
Edd giggled. "You know what I think?" "What?" Tord asked. "I think that you're beautiful too. Scars and all." Edd smiled. Tord was quiet.  
"You mean it?" He asked softly. "I do." Edd said. Tord smiled. "Well, I think you're a dork." He said. Edd pushed him playfully.  
"So are you!" He laughed. Tord laughed. "Whatever, dork. Let's go home." He smiled. Edd turned back towards the wheel and turned the car on. They pulled out of the parking lot and started driving towards home.


	18. Slow Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Never Fall In Love Again by Ollie MN

Tord turned on the radio and started flipping through the stations. A familiar song came on. He grinned. "Holy shit, remember this song?" He asked Edd. Edd smiled.  
"Wasn't this the song that you made me dance to at homecoming?" Tord started laughing. "You didn't know how to slow dance, so you just started break-dancing in the middle of the gym!" He said. Edd laughed. "I never learned to slow dance because it didn't seem important at the time!"  
Tord chuckled. "Well, you know how to now, so it's fine." Edd was silent. "Edd... you DO know how to slow dance now, right?" Tord asked. Edd chuckled nervously.  
"Edd! Did you seriously not learn your lesson then?!" Tord asked incredulously. "I told you, it didn't seem important!" Edd said defensively. Tord facepalmed. "Unbelievable. Alright, that's it, I'm teaching you to slow dance." He said determinedly. "What, like now?!" Edd asked in surprise.  
"Yes! Take the next left, there's a park that's open to the public 24/7." Tord said. Edd sighed, but did as he said. He parked the car in the parking lot and pocketed the keys before getting out. Tord grabbed Edd's hand and led him to the other side of the park where there was a clearing and a bench. "Here's good." Tord said.  
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the song. He put it on the bench and pressed play before standing in front of Edd. "Okay, put your right hand on my shoulder, and your other hand in mine." He instructed. Edd did as he said, stepping in closer. He was noticeably tensed up.  
"Edd... relax." Tord said with a gentle smile. Edd relaxed and smiled back at him. "There you go." Tord put his other hand on Edd's waist. "Alright, now step in a square, like this. 1, 2, 3, 4." He said, demonstrating.  
Edd hesitantly followed his instructions. "Slow down a bit. Let me lead, alright?" Tord said. Edd nodded, and they fell into step. Tord smiled. "You're getting it!" He said. "Is this really all it is?" Edd asked in surprise.  
"Other than twirls and dips, yes. It's easy, right?" Tord asked. Edd smiled up at him. "Yeah." Tord started softly humming along with the song. Edd looked into Tord's eyes.  
His mind was racing. He'd never really thought of Tord as more than a friend until today. So why did he feel so drawn to him? Edd's thoughts were sent running as Tord spun him around and pulled him back in. Edd laughed.  
"Warn me next time, you dork." Tord smiled. "We'll see. If you're going to laugh cutely like that every time, then I won't say a word." Edd blushed and giggled. Tord pulled him in close.  
"Hm, no sarcastic or defensive remark? Maybe my charm is finally working on you." He teased, dipping Edd. Edd smiled up at him. "Maybe it is." He said softly. He pulled Tord down and kissed him. Tord's eyes widened.  
He quickly shut them and kissed back, slowly standing them both upright. After a few minutes, they broke apart, looking feverishly into each other's eyes. Tord giggled as Edd's face turned red. "I never thought that you'd do that." Tord said softly. Edd chuckled.  
"Yeah, me neither." Suddenly, Edd's phone started ringing. He quickly answered it. "H-hello?" "Edd, where are you?! Are you okay?!" Matt asked frantically.  
Edd rolled his eyes. "Matt, calm down. I'm fine. Tord and I stopped for a bit to hang out. We're on our way back home now." He said. He said goodbye and hung up before Matt could start lecturing him. Edd sighed and stepped away from Tord. "Alright, time to go home."  
Tord grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket. He grabbed Edd's hand and they walked back towards the car. They drove back home and somehow managed to get to Edd's room without Matt stopping them for a lecture. Ringo meowed happily. "Hei, liten en! How was your day?" Tord asked, kneeling down to pet him.  
Ringo licked his hand and purred in response. "That's good." Tord said with a smile. He stood up and stretched. "Hey Tord?" Edd asked, pulling off his jeans. "Hm?"  
"Mind if I borrow one of your shirts again tonight? Mine are still in the laundry room, and I don't feel like getting them right now." Tord smiled. "Sure!" He dug through his suitcase and pulled out a pale red t-shirt that had the Coca-Cola logo on it. He tossed it to Edd.  
"Wasn't this mine?" Edd asked. "Maybe." Tord smiled. Edd rolled his eyes knowingly and pulled the shirt on. Tord pulled on a light gray shirt with a cartoon cat on it. The cat looked a lot like Ringo.  
He pulled off his jeans and literally jumped into bed, knocking Edd backwards. Edd laughed and pushed him off. "Tord! What was that for?!" He grinned. Tord smiled back. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Edd."  
Edd rolled his eyes. He got up and turned off the light, then climbed into the bed next to Tord. He got comfortable and felt Ringo jump up on the bed down by his feet. It was quiet for a full two minutes until Edd heard a whisper in his ear. "Applesauceee."  
They both burst out laughing. "Torddd! Go to sleep!" Edd said. "Alright, alright. Goodnight, Edd." Tord said. "Goodnight Tord." Edd smiled. Ringo meowed loudly. "Goodnight Ringo." They both said. They both drifted off to sleep.


	19. The First Shard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pills by Weathers

Tord woke up the next morning to a loud clatter. He sat up abruptly, instinctively reaching for a gun that wasn't there. He looked around frantically, momentarily forgetting where he was. Ringo rubbed against his hand worriedly. That small gesture was enough to ground Tord, and he remembered where he was.  
He let out a heavy sigh of relief, flopping back onto the pillow. His head pounded painfully. It felt like his brain was trying to break through his skull. "Faen..." he winced. He closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened the night before.  
His memories started coming back in flashes, like a candle in the wind. The stage, the crowded bar, the wave of energy that his voice brought over the room. From there on, all he could remember was Edd. The sudden flash of headlights, his immediate protective gesture that had saved Edd's life. Then there was the car, the comfortable laughter and playful criticism.  
After that, there was the park. A familiar tune, a familiar dance, and a dance lesson that ended with... a kiss? Tord's eyes snapped open. Edd had kissed him. The pounding in his head worsened, making him feel dizzy even while laying down.  
He sat up slowly and watched Ringo slink out of the room through the cracked door. Tord stood up and immediately regretted it. He winced and held a hand to his head. He left the room in search of pain pills, not bothering to put on pants. He walked towards the bathroom and noticed that the light was on behind the closed door.  
He raised his hand to knock, but before he could rap his knuckles on the door, he overheard something that stopped him in his tracks.  
"Matt, you're addicted to this shit! If you don't stop, it'll kill you!" Tom said, his voice filled with worry. Tord lowered his hand slowly. "I know my limits, Tom... I'm not going to die or anything." Matt said softly. Tord winced. One of his youngest soldiers had said the exact same thing a few weeks before his accidental overdose.  
Tom's voice was strained. "Do you know how many people have said that exact same thing and then accidentally overdose mere weeks afterwards? If your addiction gets any worse, you're going to die. You're going to stop paying attention to the number of pills you're taking, and then you'll be gone. You'll be nothing but another dead man who carelessly threw his life away."  
Tord had heard enough. He rapped his knuckles on the door three times. He heard Tom mumble a soft "We'll talk about this later." Tom opened the door and Matt immediately hurried out of the room and upstairs.  
"Oh, Tord. Let me guess, headache?" Tom asked. If Tord hadn't just overheard the previous conversation, he would've thought everything was normal. "Yeah... feels like my brain is trying to break out of my skull..." Tord grimaced. Tom opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pain pills. He opened it and handed two to Tord before shakily closing it back up and putting it back in the cabinet.  
"Here... do you need water to take them?" Tom asked. Tord shook his head and swallowed them, gagging slightly at the bitter taste. "Oh, Edd went over to Eduardo's. He told me to tell you to go over there when you woke up." Tom said. Tord thanked him and left the bathroom, going back to Edd's room to get dressed.  
Tom locked the medicine cabinet.  
He looked into the mirror and sighed softly, putting his head in his hands. He'd thought that Matt had been getting better... Evidently, he'd only been faking so that Tom would let his guard down and stop hiding the key to the medicine cabinet. Tom took a deep breath and stood up, flicking off the light switch and leaving the bathroom.  
He grabbed a bottle of Smirnoff from his room before heading upstairs. They'd built the upstairs with a partioning wall so that Matt wasn't crushed in his sleep by all of his junk. On the other side of the wall was a space just big enough for Matt's bed and dresser. Tom walked through a previously cleared path in the piles of various objects. He knocked on the door to Matt's room.  
"Matt?" He called softly. He heard the frantic clicking of plastic against plastic. A pill bottle being screwed closed. "Tom... what do you want?" Matt asked shakily. He was laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, trying to stop his tears long enough for the high to set in.  
"...You're high again." Tom said. His voice was completely neutral. "No... Not yet." Matt said. Tom sighed. He turned and leaned his back against the door, sliding down to sit on the floor.  
He popped open the Smirnoff and took a swig. A few minutes later, Matt broke the silence. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Waiting." Tom deadpanned. Matt stared up at the ceiling, focusing more on the cracked plaster than his words.  
"Waiting for what?" He asked. Tom took another swig of vodka. "For you to snap out of it. I can't talk to you while you're high." He said. Matt chuckled dryly. "That won't be for a while."  
It was quiet for a moment. "...You took that many?" Tom asked quietly. Matt didn't reply. Tom tilted his head back, pouring the remaining contents of the bottle down his throat. He stood up, wiping his mouth.  
"Whatever... I'm going out for a drink. If you need anything, call Edd." He walked over towards the staircase. He paused at the top. "And Matt? Don't die while I'm out. Please." Tom's tone was soft and filled with worry. Matt was quiet for a moment.  
"Okay." He replied. He heard Tom's footsteps recede downstairs. The ginger stood up carefully and opened the door in the partition wall, stepping out into the main attic. He looked over the sea of useless items. His friends always asked why he kept so much junk, and he'd always just said that they were just souvenirs.  
But to be completely honest, he kept them because he could relate to them in a way. All these objects had something in common: they'd lost their usefulness long ago. Matt felt the same about himself. He felt like he was just sitting around collecting dust. His already-slowed train of thought came to a halt as his eyes focused in on a strange purple glow coming from a corner of the attic.  
He made his way over to it, carefully stepping through the clutter. To his surprise, the glowing was coming from a shard of mirror glass. The shard was set into a familiar frame, but Matt couldn't quite remember where he'd gotten it. As soon as he picked it up, it pulsed an even brighter purple. He suddenly felt exhausted.  
Whether it was the pills or the mirror shard, he couldn't tell. He held onto the broken mirror as he made his way out of the mess, not wanting to let go of it for a reason that he couldn't quite place. He set it on top of his dresser, crawling into bed with a yawn. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, he could have sworn he'd heard a familiar voice whisper something in his ear. "See you soon..."


	20. The Second Shard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our Time Is Up by Mxmtoon

Tord found Edd's hoodie on top of his suitcase. It had a piece of paper tucked into the hood. He pulled it out and read it. 'This still smells like alcohol, you dork.' There was a little heart at the bottom before Edd's familiar bubble-letter sign-off.  
Tord smiled. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a faded red t-shirt that had a light yellow communist symbol on the front. He pulled on Edd's hoodie and tucked the note into his pocket. He unzipped his suitcase and reached into a small inner pocket. He dug around for a few seconds before finally retrieving two matching rings on dogtag chains.  
He put one of them in his pocket and the other around his neck. His throbbing headache had burned out to a manageable dull pulsing. Ringo came into the room and immediately laid down right in the middle of the bed. Tord scratched under his chin, receiving a loud purr in response. He left the room in time to see Tom come downstairs from the attic.  
"Tom, wh-" "I'm going out for a drink. I'll call when I'm halfway into a vodka coma." Tom interrupted. He left without waiting for a response from Tord. Tord opened the front door and watched him drive down the street in Edd's car. Tord sighed.  
This was turning out to be a very bad day. Definitely the worst kind of day to have a hangover. He walked out onto the front porch, closing the door behind him. The brunette looked up at the sky as he slowly made his way to the house next door. He was in no rush to get there.  
After all, he'd killed their friend. He watched the few clouds move across the sky. It was a clear day with blue skies, a major change compared to the gloomy weather they'd had recently. He made his way up the driveway, turning his attention to the loose pieces of gravel. He looked up as he neared the sidewalk leading to the front door.  
He noticed a crater filled with blue flowers. He winced, immediately knowing what that crater meant to Mark and Eduardo. The death of a friend, and a lifetime of mourning. And with the anniversary of Jon's death not long past, they were bound to hate Tord a bit more than usual. Tord walked up to the front door, a wave of guilt washing over him.  
He hesitated for a moment in front of the door. He shook his head. No time for hesitation. Pat and Pau had always told him to take responsibility for his actions, and to face his fears. He felt he owed them enough to follow their advice for once.  
He raised his fist and knocked. After a moment, the door opened. To his relief, Edd was standing in the doorway. "Tord!" He said happily. Tord smiled in spite of himself.  
"Hello, Edd. Tom said you needed me for something?" Edd shrugged. "It's nothing important, really. Just yard work." He said. He grabbed onto Tord's arm and pulled him inside, closing the door before Tord could even think about escaping. "D-don't we have to go outside to do yard work?" Tord asked nervously.  
"Well yeah, but you can't just stay outside all day." Edd said. "Actually, he can. I don't want a murderer in my house, if you don't mind." Edd and Tord turned to see a less-than-pleased Eduardo standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Tord averted his eyes. The feeling of guilt hung over his head, weighing him down.  
To his surprise, Edd immediately stepped up to defend him. "Eduardo, stop it. Tord isn't as cold-blooded as you think he is. A lot of things have changed over the past year." He said. Eduardo scowled. "The one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that my best friend's blood is still on his hands." He said coldly. Tord clenched his fists.  
"I didn't want to do it!" He shouted. "I didn't want to kill anyone, let alone innocent people! My boss thought I was ready. Hell, I thought I was ready. I felt so confident in myself, but when the time came to actually finish the job, I flinched. That little bit of hesitation was enough to fuck everything up, and now we all have to carry around a burden that should have been purely mine." Tord said.  
Eduardo was quiet for a moment. "You seemed pretty confident until your robot was destroyed." He said. Tord shook his head. "That was nothing but an act. If my superiors had found out that I was feeling even the slightest bit of hesitance, they would have killed me immediately." Eduardo was silent for a moment.  
He turned back towards the kitchen. "There's some branches in the backyard that fell in that storm we had a couple nights ago. Pick those up and I won't kick you out. Deal?" Tord nodded. "Deal." "Then get going." Eduardo said, walking into the kitchen.  
Edd patted Tord on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile before following Eduardo. The communist walked towards the back door and stepped out onto the back porch. In the middle of the backyard was a large cherry tree. A few branches near the bottom had fallen into the yard, shattering a small clay pot. Tord started picking up the branches, putting them in a pile next to the porch.  
When he was done picking up the branches, he went to pick up the broken pieces of the pot. He knelt down to examine it and realized that there was a little blue flower growing in the remains of a dirt clump. Tord stood up and walked back onto the porch, stepping inside the house. He walked over to the kitchen doorway. "Hey Eduardo, do you have any more-"  
Tord froze. Eduardo had Edd backed up against the counter, their mouths pressed together. "-flower pots..." Tord said softly. Eduardo broke away and looked at him. "Check in the shed." He said, a smug look on his face.  
Tord walked back outside without another word. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch Eduardo right in his smug little face. He wanted to cry his eyes out until he couldn't cry anymore. Most of all, he wanted to run as far away as he could.  
But first, that little flower needed his help. He went over to the shed and pulled the doors open, retrieving a small flower pot, a watering can, and a small bag of soil. He poured some fresh soil into the pot and went over to the little flower. He picked it up and started taking off most of the clumps of old soil. As he got closer to where the roots were, he noticed something strange.  
Right above the roots, there was a patch of dark blue fabric. Tears started running down Tord's face. It was a piece of Jon's shirt. He carefully placed the flower in the new pot and went to pick up the jagged pieces of the broken pot. To his surprise, the largest piece had been replaced with a shard of mirror glass.  
It glowed a faint red, pulsing slightly. Tord picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his ear. "He doesn't love you. Why don't you run to someone who does?" It whispered. Tord stood up, obligated to follow its instructions.  
He slipped the piece of glass into his back pocket. Surprisingly, it didn't feel sharp at all. He took off Edd's hoodie and left it on the ground, picking up the little pot and leaving the backyard. He started running towards the hospital, making sure not to look back.


	21. A Different Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sociopath by Stelouse

A few minutes before Tord had walked in, Edd was leaning against the counter, rambling on and on about what Tord had done for him since his return a few days prior. Eduardo was leaning against the opposite wall, paying more attention to Edd's behavior than the actual conversation. Cold flames of jealousy burned behind his eyes. He hated how Edd's entire being seemed to light up when he talked about Tord. He hated how Tord had somehow been able to worm his way back into their life and take Edd away from him.  
And most of all, he hated how Tord had been able to make Edd feel whole again, something that he'd tried and failed to do for an entire year. Through the open window, Eduardo heard Tord's footsteps drawing closer to the back porch. He stepped closer to Edd, backing him up against the counter. "Eduardo, what are you-" Edd's nervous question was interrupted as Eduardo kissed him determinedly.   
Edd's heart was pounding, one thought on his mind: 'This isn't right.' He heard the back door open, and he lifted his hand to push Eduardo away. To his dismay, Eduardo grabbed his hand and pushed it down against the counter, holding him in place. Edd heard Tord come into the doorway. "Hey Eduardo, do you have any more-"   
Edd's heart dropped. He could practically hear it shatter on the floor. "-flower pots...." Tord said softly. Eduardo pulled away, grinning smugly at Tord. "Check in the shed." He instructed.   
As soon as Eduardo heard the back door close, he released Edd's wrist and backed up. Edd rubbed his wrist, which was now red and slightly sore. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, looking up at Eduardo. Eduardo reached into the fridge and pulled out a diet cola, popping the tab. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Edd." He said, casually taking a sip.   
Edd smacked the can out of his hand, spilling it all over the floor. "Don't fucking play dumb with me, Eduardo Baker." He said coldly. "My cola! Edd, what the hell is your problem?" Eduardo asked. Edd glared at him. "My problem?! What the hell is your problem?! I didn't want you to kiss me! I tried to push you off, and you forced my hand away!" He said angrily.  
Eduardo frowned. "I only kissed you so that Tord would know to keep away from my property." He said. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew he'd made a mistake. Edd's expression darkened. "'Property'? Is that what I am to you, Eduardo? Property?" He asked coldly.  
"Edd, I didn't mean-" Edd didn't wait for him to finish. He walked out of the kitchen towards the back door. "Edd, where are you going?!" Eduardo asked, hurrying after him. "I'm going to get Tord, and then I'm going home. At least I know that he actually cares about me more than his ego." Edd said, opening the door.   
He stepped out into the backyard. "Tord?" He called. He noticed his hoodie on the ground. "Shit." He picked up his hoodie and pulled it on.  
"Tord!" He called. No response. "He probably just got pissed and went home." Eduardo shrugged. Edd glared at him. "Yeah, and who's fault is that? Yours. So why don't you get your head out of your ass and help me find him?"   
Eduardo frowned. "I have better things to do, sorry." Without another word, he closed the back door and locked it. Edd swore under his breath. He left the backyard and walked around to the front of the house, calling for Tord.   
There was no response. Edd hurried back over to his house and pushed open the door. "Tord?" He called. He looked throughout the downstairs, checking every room. Still, nothing.  
He started panicking a bit, feeling responsible for Tord's sudden disappearance. Edd's phone started ringing, and he reflexively put his hands in his hoodie pockets, forgetting that he'd put it in his back pocket. His hand touched something small and metal. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and answered it, momentarily forgetting the small object. "Hello?"   
"Hiii, Edd..." Tom slurred. "Tom, is Tord with you?" Edd asked. Tom burped directly into the microphone. "Nah... haven't seen him." He said. Edd sighed dejectedly.   
"Alright... I'll have Mark pick you up on his way home from work." He said, figuring Tom was too drunk to question why. "Mmkay. Buh-bye." Tom said, hanging up. After a quick text to Mark, Edd put his phone back in his pocket, turning his attention to the metal object in his hoodie pocket. He pulled it out and examined it. It was a little silver ring on a dogtag chain.  
Why did Tord have a ring? Upon further inspection, he realized that there was an inscription on the inside. "'Jeg elsker deg'." Edd read softly. 'I love you.'


	22. The Third Shard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lone Digger by Caravan Palace

About twenty minutes before he'd called Edd, Tom was sitting at his usual table, his hoodie set to the side. He was finishing off his third drink of the night, and he could feel the alcohol taking its toll. One of the waitresses came over to his table. She was dressed in a maid outfit that looked like it had been bought at the dollar store. It was tacky, to say the least.   
"Hiya, cutie. We're doing a raffle tonight. The lucky winner gets a free private session with one of our best girls. So, what do you say?" She asked. Tom looked up at her from his seat. "Not interested, sorry." He slurred. The girl looked slightly surprised. "Are you sure? Tickets are priced cheap." She said.  
Tom shook his head. "I have a boyfriend. Don't wanna hurt him." He explained. The girl nodded and moved on to the next table. Tom picked up his little bottle of vodka and went to take a sip. Suddenly, somebody slammed their hand down on the table, causing Tom to jolt and drop the bottle.   
It broke into pieces as it came into contact with the table's wooden surface. Tom swore under his breath and looked up at the offender, an ugly man in his late thirties. "Can I fucking help you?" Tom asked, glaring at the man. "As a matter of fact you can. Wanna tell me what a fag like you is doing at a bar for real men?" The man sneered, leaning toward him. Tom frowned.   
"Wanna tell me what an insensitive cunt like you is doing in my personal space?" He retorted. The man smirked, reaching out to touch Tom's hair. "Just checking out the menu." He said. Tom smacked his hand away, standing up. "Get your fucking hands off of me, asswipe." He snapped.   
"You're a spunky one, aren't you? Looks like I'll need to train you before you can be used properly." The man said, grabbing onto the collar of Tom's shirt and pulling him close. Tom grit his teeth, taking a swing and hitting the man square in the nose. The man let him go, his hands flying to his nose. When he pulled his hands away, they were covered in blood. He looked at Tom with murderous intent, picking up the neck of the broken vodka bottle and slashing it across the brunette's upper arm.   
Tom winced in pain. One of the waitresses saw what had just happened and called for one of the bouncers. After the man was dragged outside, the waitress informed Tom that his drinks were on the house as an apology for the inconvenience. Tom thanked her and went to collect his things, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his arm. He carefully pulled on his hoodie, looking down at the table to make sure he didn't leave anything behind.   
To his surprise, a large shard of glass from the broken bottle was glowing dimly, pulsing a dark blue. He picked it up and pocketed it, deciding to examine it later when he was sober. He headed outside to wait for Mark, looking around to make sure that his attacker wasn't still there. When he'd made sure that the coast was clear, Tom sat down on the curb next to the bar's entrance. He was starting to feel light-headed, and his hoodie sleeve was soaked with blood.  
A few minutes layer, Tom fell unconscious.


	23. Don't Give Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't Give Up by Bruno Mars (Sesame Street)

Tord arrived at the hospital entrance, breathing heavily. He pushed open the doors and walked inside, getting a visitor's name tag before heading up to Pat's room. He rapped his knuckles on the doorframe. Pat looked up from his phone. "Oh, Tord! What are you doing here?" He asked with a smile.  
Tord came into the room, pulling a chair up close to the bed again. He sat down and laid his head down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. Pat frowned sympathetically. "That bad, huh?" He asked. Tord nodded.   
"What happened?" Pat asked, sitting up. "I'm an idiot. I really thought that he liked me. For a split second, a couple of hours, everything was fine. Everything was good, and I..." Tord sniffled, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "I felt so happy. For the first time in a year, I felt like everything would be alright. But then..." his voice broke, tears running down his cheeks. "Then everything fell apart again. He kissed someone else right in front of me. Like I didn't even matter to him." Tord was quiet, struggling to stop himself from sobbing. Pat was quiet for a moment.  
"You're just going to give up?" He asked. Tord looked up at him. "What?" "You're telling me that the Red Leader, the man who single-handedly took down an entire armada, the man who invoked fear and respect into thousands of soldiers, the man whose name is known throughout the world because he will do anything to get waht he wants, is just giving up?" Pat asked. "N-no! But-"   
"But nothing. We're going to go out there and get your man back." Pat interrupted. "We?" Tord asked. As if answering his question, a nurse walked into the room. "Sir, the doctor says you're free to leave." She said. Pat smiled at her. "Great."   
She handed him his suitcase. "Your clothes are all in there, and we washed the ones you arrived in. If you start to feel any worse, don't hesitate to come see us again." The nurse said. Pat nodded. "Thank you, we'll be leaving shortly." The nurse left the room, leaving Pat and Tord alone.  
"Why didn't you tell me they were releasing you today?" Tord asked. Pat started digging through his suitcase, pulling out a yellow hoodie and a pair of dark jeans. "The cell service in here is basically nonexistent." He said. After he was dressed, they left the hospital room and headed down the hall to check on Pau. He was still unconscious, but his vitals were stable.   
Pat walked to his bed side, lacing their fingers together. The steady blipping of the heart monitor was the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. "I'll wait in the hallway until you're ready to go." Tord said. Pat nodded as Tord stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. After a few moments, he heard frantic footsteps coming down the hallway.   
He looked up and his eyes widened. It was Edd, a panicked expression on his face. "Edd?" Tord asked. Edd stopped in his tracks. "Tord?" He asked softly.


End file.
